Fresh User Reviews in Hunter Valley Wine Region

1.5 Not Recommended

Drinks  1      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  1     

Simply horrible! Pie was awful potato mash was canned and vegies were boiled within an inch of their life. In addition it was completely over priced.

May 23, 2012

3 Below Average

Food  1      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  1     

We went on Monday night 21/5/2012 the waiter was friendly and attentive. The food was the worst I have had the steamed greens were over cooked and a mushy mess in the bowl and the rest of the food was not much better. The kitchen staff (if that) should have been embarrassed. They obviously don't work weekends.

May 22, 2012

2 Not Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Unfortunately, after looking forward to a good night out we were a local group very disappointed with the hospitality of the restaurant. We were having a good night with laughter and good fun but were denied, being humiliated by being told we were intoxicated after a few drinks and a laugh.

May 19, 2012

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  10     

We recently spent a weekend in the Hunter Valley and had dinner at Roberts, Moline's Bistro and Margan. They were all good, but Margan was the stand out. We'd all played golf earlier in the day and missed lunch, so were fairly hungry. We decided to go the 5 course degustation, but after 4 courses we were all fully satiated.

Generous serves and very good quality. The wine list had some exceptional bargains on it too (bottle shop prices for some of the German and French wines!). Service was polite and friendly. Will definitely return.

May 08, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

My husband and I decided on our anniversary dinner at Mojo's after much debate given some of the recent poor reviews. We couldn't have asked for a better dinner! The food was unbelievable! Not to mention great service (we did go on a Monday night). We had the 3 course menu with matching wines which was fantastic! Highly recommended!

May 07, 2012

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

I was very pleased to discover Emerson at Pokolbin. The food and service are to level we had my wife and I a degustation and we really enjoy it! We cannot wait to go back!

May 07, 2012

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Lunch here either alfresco or in nicely styled space. We really liked the service, "espresso with dessert or after" leaving that last sip of wine you were lingering over when the table is cleared a genuine farewell etc etc what a change from the usual sydney restaurant/cafe experience, highly recommend only criticism is the regular arrival of choppers on the lawn no more than 20 metres, 4 over this sitting, once is dramatic but after that it wears thin.

May 07, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7      Drinks  9     

Outstanding. Cessnock hes needed a restaurant of this quality in the CBD since the days of The Cottage. A pleasure to enjoy a relaxed lunch or a la carte dinner. I recommend the sashimi and chefs own wasabi!

May 05, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  6     

Service was pleasant but operating on Hunter time. For a table of only six, with a shared entree, main and a few coffees, we were there nearly three hours.

The food was nice but not exalting. The salmon stuffing in my zucchini flowers was over-the-top salty and overall it was quite an average dish. It's a lovely outlook but they need to lift their game, it's nice without being either memorable or exciting.

May 03, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

We recommend ordering the teppanyaki beef. We knew there was something special about it when we tasted it and in fact the waiter later told us it was wagyu. Paired with a shiraz it was a very pleasant meal.

Apr 21, 2012

2.3 Not Recommended

Drinks  3      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  1     

I found the staff to be rude, argumentative and very amateurish and the food was expensive for what is fairly standard pub food. For the same price you could get a much better quality meal at a number of the other local restaurants. We battled with the hostess to get a table at 6.30pm when the place was mostly empty. One of her excuses was that they couldn't accommodate our pram. She also told us we had to be out by 7.30 because they had 7.30 bookings.

The ridiculous ordering system meant that it took us 20 minutes to order our food (it's essentially self service) and drinks (my wine was half the normal size). We eventually got our food at 7.15pm and scoffed it down by 7.30pm when the hostess and another waitress came around to tell us they immediately wanted the table back.

The service we received ensured that I won't come back to this place again. They obviously don't know how to run a restaurant properly.

Apr 21, 2012

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  6      Service  3      Value  1     

I would highly Not recommend this restaurant. However, feel free to try if you would like to Ruin your entire Hunter Valley trip.

The food is tasteless. This is one of the worst experiences I have ever had in recent years. Came to this place for our good Friday dinner ended up with total disappointment. Don’t be fooled by the well presented photos in Hunter Valley advertising brochure!

Having waited 2 hours for our main to come, we finally have to make an enquiry. The waitress told us there’s another 15 minutes. The group came after us had already been served with main at that time and the reason being explained was, because we had bread before our entrée?

Four of us ordered 2 sirloin and 2 lamb. All of them were already cold when served, the lamb was slightly warmer than the beef though. Had to ask for steak knives and a replacement for the beef. Surprisingly, my ‘warm up’ version came within 5 minutes. I could not figure out why it took 2+hours for the original to come but only 5 minutes for the replacement. The entire table agreed that both lamb and beef were not tender or tasty at all, given us the feeling those were made long ago and just been microwave reheated.

The last comment is also applied to dessert. The Mango Crème Brulee was cold and definitely made in the afternoon at the latest. The funny thing was the plate was warm. How did that work? Crème Brulee served cold, really?

Having said that, the restaurant did compensate us with complimentary dessert due to the dissatisfactory. But you may find many quality restaurants in Hunter Valley at the similar price, it's not worth risking.

Response from Management:
Thank you for your review. We appreciate the feedback as we are constantly trying to improve the service and the food at Emerson's at Pokolbin. Sorry to hear that your dining experience at Emerson's at Pokolbin was a negative one.

As a business owner it is hard to read negative comments like yours especially when the comments has been exaggerated and damaging to small family own business like this one.

To say that you waited for more than 2 hours for your main meal is very unlikely as the restaurant only seats 50 customers at a time. Yes the restaurant was busy on Easter Friday and we acknowledge that you waited for your main meal but not for over 2 hours. Your booking was for 7pm and from when your order was taken, bread were served a complementary amuse bouche which every customer gets from the kitchen and entree was served, yes you did wait until you main meal was served at 9:15pm. We acknowledge that there was a delay on your main meal coming out but it was not for over 2 hours between entree and you main meal.

Both beef sirloin and lamb rump are cooked in a sous vide machine to guarantee tenderness and serve straight from sous vide machine after a quick seal in a pan sliced and place on plate to serve. When your beef was sent back as you wanted it hotter, a new piece of beef that has already been cooked in the sous vide machine was slice and sealed in a pan and served straight away so that you did not wait any longer. I can guarantee that your beef was not microwaved.

Complementary dessert was given to your table for the wait for your main meal to say sorry from the kitchen. I’ve been cooking for 17 years and have never serve a hot Brulee. I have always served Brulee as a cold dessert. Again we are sorry that your dining experience with us was a negative one.

Emerson Rodriguez
Owner/Chef

Apr 12, 2012

7.3 Recommended

Drinks  6      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  7     

Good family pub, food is always of a good standard, have been many many times. Drinks a little pricey and find the house wine is only ok, the pub itself is lovely, inside and out. Its a nice break from pricey gourmet that seems to be the only food in the hunter. I recommend the salt and pepper squid!

Apr 11, 2012

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

Went on a saturday night with five adults and an infant, service was very good, food of a good standard, modern australian, apparently the rib eye and fish were excellent, the ravioli was good. Suitable for families and couples, I thought it would be tackier than it was, and the bar area is really lovely with fireplace and nice lounge chairs. The wine selection was mostly local which we liked.

Apr 11, 2012

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  4      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  1     

Firstly the waitress did not know what the special was or what the changes to the menu were. Then the burnt butter gnocchi was as dry as the service. Moreton bay bug needed a microscope to see. After asking where our mains were 50 minutes after entree finished, we received them in another 20 minutes. With no apology or acknowledgment of how long it took. Didn't hang around to try dessert!

Apr 06, 2012

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Tremendous coeliac-friendly restaurant situated on beautiful Hunter Valley grounds. Local eggs and bacon, far superior to city produce. Perfect for Sunday breakfast or brunch. We'll be back.

Apr 01, 2012

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Very disappointed with Mojo's on Wilderness. I had heard wonderful things about this place and given their prices, I was thoroughly shocked by the lack of professionalism in both the food and the service.

The food was quite plain, tasted mediocre and haphazardly cooked. A poor excuse for Modern Australian cuisine. The service was slow, multiple menu items unavailable and one of the waitresses was extremely conceited and arrogant. Perhaps, after many wine tastings people would not notice, however, after this experience with Mojo's I will not be coming back. It is my hope that this review will save others from wasting their time and money.

Mar 06, 2012

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  8     

This is my fourth visit to Esca and I know it will be expensive but will always choose to go there on a special occasion. Our group of 5 chose the degustation menu with accompanying wines @ $120 per person. Every course was a work of art and a taste sensation. We went for lunch as the view over the vines and the golf course in the distance is divine on such a sunny day. Each serving is small so you don't feel overly full at the end of the meal. But by 9pm when we realised we needed dinner nothing in the valley was open.

Feb 28, 2012

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

Such a disappointing experience. My partner and I ate here on Saturday night, expecting a great meal after enjoying the food from the cafe at lunch on several occasions.

We ordered 2 courses each and there were serious problems with 2 of the 4 dishes.

The first course (Quail) was passable but was nothing special. For the mains I had the beef (was quite good) and my partner had the Barramundi. The fish looked good, however, the knife could not make it all the way through because the inside was completely raw. Thinking it may be part of the dish, we cut around the fish to find that about 50% was cooked.

After questioning the staff, it was taken away quickly and they apologised (fine we thought, this happens sometimes). However, when we got our fish back, we were shocked. We got the same piece of fish (now mashed up in pieces) after it had clearly been put in the microwave (you could tell the texture). Wow, shocking.

However, even after this we kept positive and looked forward to the dessert. We got the Strawberry (they did not have Mangoes) and cream Semifreddo with Tuille. The Tuille (wafer) was viably burnt when the plate was put on the table. Thinking it may just be caramelised, we tasted and it was bitter and tasted like burnt toast. The second big mistake. By this stage we just wanted to leave.

We ate around the tuille and when asked how it was by the waitress when clearing our plates, we told her that it was burnt, to be told "oh sorry". Would you like the bill?". We received the full bill with nothing taken off.

What a horrible meal, Mojo. I had high expectations and we are normally really forgiving when it comes to mishaps. However, the way the problems were dealt with just made the meal a horrible experience. No quality. There are so many nicer places to eat in the hunter. Give this restaurant a miss. I will never be back and will never recommend it to my friends again.

Just because the Hunter is full of tourists, this is no excuse for bad service and bad food.

Feb 26, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  7      Value  6     

Expensive but worth every cent. Ambience excellent.

Feb 26, 2012